Argon was the first of the inert gases to be discovered; its name was taken from Greek, the neuter of argos, idle, from a- without, plus ergon, work. Others were named in imitation: neon (Greek, literally ‘something new’, neuter of the adjective neos), krypton (Greek krupton, neuter of kruptos, hidden); xenon (Greek, neuter of xenos, strange); radon (from radium).